Crisp fall day – needed a coat for the morning walk to work.

– Oooh look! A group that did something utterly ridiculous took it back. So that’s nice: School board lifts heavily-criticized ban on Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man’

– A nice exploration of all the ways we tell boys it’s bad to be anything less than ‘masculine’: The real boy crisis: 5 ways America tells boys not to be “girly” (via @schemaly)

– A long read: NCAA and sexism: ‘We Felt Like We Were Above the Law’: How the NCAA Endangers Women (via @scATX)

– Kind of nice to see a guy calling out the dude bro ridiculousness: #BeAnExample (h/t Miss Representation)

– This is awesome! Marissa Alexander, Sentenced to 20 Years for Firing One Shot Into the Ceiling, Gets a Retrial (h/t @DrJaneChi)

– So bizarre. Famed Italian pasta maker Barilla: Gays can eat someone else’s pasta (h/t @JessicaValenti)

– Ooooh, goodie. A lit prof who won’t teach books written by women. FANtastic. Lit Professor Who Doesn’t Teach Books by Women Is Surprised That Offends People (h/t @RepresentPledge)

– Anotherexample of why we need universal health care, not this system that still ties much of the health care to employment: ObamaCare List Hits 313 As 54 Colleges Cut Adjunct Hours

– And finally, my favorite article of the day: Atlas Shrugged Producers Launch Kickstarter to Finish Their Self-Reliant Epic

I just finished “Weeds.” A couple of years late, but glad I finally closed that out.

– Yup. “I cannot – CANNOT – care more about football players than the child victims. I cannot. Stop asking me to. And if you are angry that we are to the point where someone feels like they must choose between football players and child victims, THAT IS NOT MY PROBLEM”: The Reduction of Penn State Sanctions: The Unsurprising Cowardice of the NCAA (via @scATX)

– This is fascinating. “Gender mainstreaming has been in place in the Austrian capital since the early 1990s. In practice, this means city administrators create laws, rules and regulations that benefit men and women equally.” How to Design a City for Women (h/t @FemFreq)

– I know my mom has stopped enjoying going to NFL games – and they’ve been season ticket holders for years. As a Female NFL Fan, I Want a Better Stadium Experience—Not a Pink Jersey (h/t @scATX)

– This is so … ugh. Live your life how you want, but the part about letting marital rape happen? NOPE. ‘Real Housewife’ Melissa Gorga’s New Book Advocates Marital Rape (h/t @JillFilipovic)

And the downside of the return of autumn – sickness abounds.

– Result of a Supreme Court ruling last session … very sad: “I do not want to go! I do not want to go!” Screamed Veronica as She was Taken From Her Biological Father (h/t @ChiefElk)

– Health insurance is almost here: Seattle volunteers spread the word about Affordable Care Act (via @ajam)

– Shocker: The latest B.S. attack on the Affordable Care Act is … B.S.: Sorry, The Latest Anti-Obamacare Article To Go Viral Is Totally Wrong (via @ThinkProgress)

– Interesting article on names: What’s so wrong with giving your kid a ‘black name’?

– Yup. Jillian Michaels is not a good person: I Worked Out With Jillian Michaels and She Made Me Feel Bad About My Body (h/t @TheLindyWest)

Fall is here!

– Food stamps. Veterans on food stamps: My Name Is Jason, I’m A 35-Yr-Old White Male Combat Veteran…And I’m On Food Stamps

– Private prisons. Not a good idea: A Majority Of Private Prison Contracts Include ‘Lockup Quotas’ To Guarantee Profits (via @raniakhalek)

– Awesome points on food stamps: Congresswoman Uses Steak, Vodka, And Caviar To Hammer Republicans On Food Stamp Cuts (h/t @JessicaValenti)

– Blame the feminists! Blame a Feminist: The Top Tragedies Feminism Has Wrought (h/t @schemaly)

– HA HA: This Robin Thicke review is almost as good as that Chris Brown review. NO STARS.

– Canada puts its money where its mouth is: NDP wants visa ban on Russian politicians who supported anti-gay law

– Peter King: Still bad at life: Rep. Peter King Urges Racial Profiling of Somali-Americans In Wake of Kenya’s Terrorist Attack (via @raniakhalek)

– I still don’t get how this is legal in so many states: Massachusetts Might Force a Woman to Share Parental Rights with the Rapist Who Impregnated Her

Tomorrow is day one of a two-day drill. Saturday night will be spent on the couch, watching shitty movies, then sleeping. A lot.

– Fascinating read: How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers

– A little more detail on why Blurred Lines is such a creepy song: What Rapists Say Echoes the Lyrics of “Blurred Lines” (via @MsMagazine)

– Whoa: French Senate Says “Non” To Mini-Miss Pageants (via @AP)

– Whoa. Cards Against Humanity did a little subversive move at PAX: Penny Arcade

– “And here’s a handy rule of thumb: if your team name exists only because there was a genocide, then you might need a new team name.” Rick Reilly and the Most Irredeemably Stupid Defense of the Redskins Name You Will Ever Read (via @EdgeOfSports)

– KITTEH! This Russian Library Just Hired a Stray Cat as Its Assistant Librarian (h/t @DrJaneChi)

– Fat people get shit treatment just by existing. Just Because I’m Fitnessing While Fat Doesn’t Mean You Can Try To Sell Me Weight Loss Crap (via @theRotund)

– Who does this? How is this … the hell? Parents Complain After Child Forced to Reenact Slavery on a Field Trip

First off – happy birthday to my father in law, who I’m 99.9% sure will not be reading this 🙂

– Group Health makes a change; rights a wrong: Group Health about-face: Customers will have access to abortions (via @Q13Fox)

– This is fabulous: The Inside Story Of The Feminists Who Fooled Us Into Thinking Playboy Cared About Consent (via @ThinkProgress)

– Want to read an article that unironically shows the problem with Americans who choose ignorance over reality? Apparently Penny Arcade buys into the idea that racists are just a small segment of the U.S. They continue to be unimpressive: Miss America, bigot shaming, and the media’s vile attraction to the worst in America (h/t @PublicShaming)

– I like to support the independent, local shops for my hot chocolate fix. However, this definitely makes me feel better about choosing Starbucks: An Open Letter from Howard Schultz, ceo of Starbucks Coffee Company (h/t @King5Seattle)

– Fascinating: The 300-year-old fertility statistics still in use today (via @BBCNews)

– I am now a signatory! Welcome to our our newest signatories!

– Intriguing – NCAA claims that colleges can’t use sex to recruit players. And yet … there seems to be nothing in the rules that state that: Where *Exactly* Does It Say That? The NCAA’s Prohibition of Sex In Recruiting (via @scATX)

– Domestic violence: A ‘Grim Tally’: Abusers, Guns, and the Women They Kill (h/t @JessicaValenti)

Weird 24 hours in my town – a stabbing three blocks from my home, drive-by pellet shootings south of us, and a white powder issue at a nearby hotel. Ugh.

– Oh goody – super fancy surveillance cameras: New HD CCTV puts human rights at risk

– Good for her – and shame on the company: Victory! Lambda Legal Helps S.D. Transgender Employee Win Landmark Settlement (h/t @SophiaPhotos)

– OWS Anniversary: Occupy Activists’ New Fight for Regulation, Affordable Housing and Social Justice (via @AllisonKilkenney)

– Even in the Not For Profit world, the wage gap persists: Same Job, Same Size Budget Equals Less Pay for Women (h/t @JessicaValenti)

– This is awesome and I support it: A Statement of Trans-Inclusive Feminism and Womanism (h/t @JessicaValenti)

– Interesting development: Yellen as Fed chair would be tougher on banks (via @PublicI)

I’ve started a new job and my work schedule is changing. Today was my last Monday off … and it was lovely.

– I actually don’t know if I agree with this decision, but it is certainly interesting: University of Edinburgh bans Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ from playing on campus (h/t @schemaly)

– Washington Post takes a stand on the name of the NFL team from D.C.: Roger Goodell calls an audible on the Washington R*dskins name (h/t @EdgeOfSports)

– Kindness, man. It’s pretty awesome: This Woman’s Obituary is the Best Thing You’ll Read Today (h/t @JillFilipovic)

– Being human: these folks are doing it wrong: Americans Call First Indian American Miss America Winner a Terrorist (h/t @irevolt)

– This is a long, but sort of fascinating, read. How one man attempts (ish) to be an ally, ends up being just awful. Great investigation: The Genderbread Plagiarist (via @cisnormativity)

– What can we do to stop things like this? It’s so disgusting: Jonathan Ferrell, Former Football Player, Killed by Police After Seeking Help Following Car Wreck (via @EdgeOfSports)

– In other disturbing news: Three Students Got Kicked Out Of An Arkansas Public School Because They Might Be HIV-Positive (h/t @LaurenARankin)

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We got a respite from the heat today. Huzzah!

– Oh for FUCK’S SAKE: Report says University of Alabama’s white sororities keep black women out

– Another trans woman murdered. What is wrong with humans? Denton County authorities investigating murder of transgender woman (h/t @DrJaneChi)

– Word. Female Sports Fan Says ‘Don’t Troll Me, Bro’

– Bigotry against fat people – concern trolling edition: Barbara Kay: Fat-acceptance is not the answer to obesity (h/t @FatBodyPolitics)

– I think I’ll write more (oh so much more) about this gem this weekend but let’s start off with the title. It’s not up to the parents to decide whether to ‘send’ their daughter to college – it’s up to her to decide whether she wants to go to college. It gets more disgusting from there: 6 Reasons (+2) to NOT Send Your Daughter to College (h/t @schemaly)

We’re re-watching WALL-E. It’s that kind of day.

– Yup. Confirmed: Men Take Up Too Much Space on Planes (h/t @scaTX)

– Well, this would explain a lot. Attorney for Trayvon Martin medical examiner preparing $100M lawsuit (h/t @carolynedgar)

– That’d be awesome. It’s Time for a Black Feminist to Head the NAACP (via @AngryBlackLady)

– Yeah. “Fitspiration” is questionable, at best. The Six Most Shockingly Irresponsible “Fitspiration” Photos (h/t @TheRotund)

– Lindy West is the awesome. Why the Hell Are On-Screen Interracial Relationships Still a Big Deal? (via @TheLindyWest)

– Interesting. Undercover cops will wear 49ers jerseys in Seattle on Sunday night